Researchers from the University of East Anglia have investigated how social relationships influence biological processes.
The study, published in Molecular Ecology, was conducted on a small island in the Seychelles, where a specific bird species lives in isolation.
There, researchers were able to follow the same individuals throughout their entire lives and collect data on both their behavior and health.
The invisible life of the gut
The gut microbiome consists of bacteria that are important for digestion and immune function.
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In the study, researchers focused in particular on bacteria that cannot survive outside the body.
These bacteria require close contact to be transmitted between individuals. The results showed that birds that spent a significant amount of time together also had more similar compositions of gut bacteria.
What could this mean for humans?
Previous studies have shown that people who live together often have similar microbiomes.
This study suggests that this is not only due to shared environments such as diet or housing.
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Instead, social contact itself plays an important role. Close interaction and daily contact may therefore help influence the body’s internal balance.
It is not only the environment and lifestyle that shape gut bacteria - the relationship between individuals also matters.
Living closely together can thus alter the body’s microbiome without one noticing it.
Sources: SciTechDaily and Molecular Ecology.
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This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.